White House

Zaila Avant-garde's on the roller coaster of a lifetime after winning the National Spelling Bee, and her next stop just might be 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. -- we just hope it goes smoother than her NYC visit.

We got the newly-crowned champ and her mother, Alma Heard, Wednesday after landing at LAX, and -- like most of us -- our photog was duly impressed by the 14-year-old wonderkid who just became the first Black American teen to win the event.

We had to ask if she was getting the same perks as most sports champions ... namely, an invitation to the White House. You gotta see her response ... Zaila's first thought was to be super-considerate of President Biden's time, but then mom revealed something might already be in the works. #Fingerscrossed.

Hey, she's already getting invited all over the place -- it's Hollywood this week, but last week she was at the ESPYs in NYC, and Zaila told how things went a little haywire there.

Former President Donald Trump threatened to sue over the new book detailing his alleged praise for Adolf Hitler ... according to the author, Michael Bender, who says he was summoned to Mar-a-Lago for a one-on-one.

Bender joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" to discuss, "Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost" -- and he told us how Trump tried at first to gently spin the content of his book ... before taking a more hardcore approach.

The WSJ reporter says Trump twice invited him to Mar-a-Lago after leaving office ... and while the ex-Prez was gracious with his time, Michael says there was also threatening language involved.

As we reported ... Bender's book claims Trump was visiting Europe in 2018, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI, when at some point during the trip Trump turned to his then-Chief of Staff, Gen. John F. Kelly and allegedly said, "Well, Hitler did a lot of good things." Kelly allegedly pushed back.

Bender claims Trump's response to the alleged Hitler conversation was to call it defamatory during their face-to-face meeting ... which he took as signaling a potential lawsuit if it ended up in the book.

Of course, he did include it ... and told us why he was supremely confident, despite the threat.

The Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville is finally coming down ... nearly 4 years after it played a central role in sparking the violent rally where Heather Heyer was killed.

Crews started working early Saturday morning to remove the monument to the Confederate general from a city park.

The monumental event drew a crowd of spectators who cheered when the statue was finally lifted off its pedestal. The crews are expected to remove another nearby statue too -- that one of another Confederate general ... Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.

Calls for the city to take down the tributes to the failed Confederacy were what ignited the "Unite the Right" rally back in 2017 ... where neo-Nazis with tiki torches walked through the University of Virginia campus chanting about white supremacy.

That drew counter protesters and sparked the violent clash where James Fields eventually plowed through a crowd with his car, killing Heyer. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2019 for her murder and hate crimes.

Then-President Trump infamously reacted to the deadly incident by saying there was "blame on both sides."

As the Lee statue was coming down Saturday, Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker addressed the crowd and reporters, saying ... "Taking down this statue is one small step closer to the goal of helping Charlottesville, Virginia, and America, grapple with the sin of being willing to destroy Black people for economic gain."

It's unclear where the statues will go now. By law, the city had to accept bids from people or institutions interested in taking them. Charlottesville reportedly 10 offers and the city council will make the final call.

Former President Donald Trump apparently thought that despite being responsible for millions of deaths during WWII -- including several million in the Holocaust -- Adolf Hilter's hits are overlooked in history ... this according to a new book, which details the wild claim.

The alleged story is told in WSJ reporter Michael Bender's new book, "Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost." Bender claims the Hitler anecdote was told to Trump's ex-Chief of Staff, Gen. John F. Kelly.

According to an excerpt obtained by The Guardian ... Bender's book claims Trump was on a visit to Europe in 2018 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI -- and at some point during the trip ... he turned to Kelly and allegedly said, "Well, Hitler did a lot of good things." Kelly was reportedly gobsmacked, as you can imagine.

The veteran military man pushed back, reportedly telling Trump he was wrong, but DT cited Germany's economic recovery under Hitler. Gen. Kelly pushed back further, reminding Trump who was on the good and bad side of history, while also drawing a line from point A to point B when it came to Hitler's ascent and, ultimately, his atrocities.

Kelly's also allegedly said ... "You cannot ever say anything supportive of Adolf Hitler. You just can't." Indeed, truer words haven't been spoken.

Here's Tom Brady proving he's bad at absolutely nothing ... smoking a tee shot so far on Tuesday, even Barack Obama couldn't help but be floored by the swing!!!

The insane stroke all went down during the third hole of Tuesday's "The Match" ... when Tom crushed a drive so well, it traveled 390 yards and landed just feet from the pin!

Obama happened to be commenting on the hole for TNT's broadcast during the swing ... and he was left darn-near speechless, saying nothing more than "wow!"

The most impressive part about the swing? Tom and his partner, Phil Mickelson, needed it desperately after Bryson DeChambeau had just buried his tee shot a few feet away from the cup.

Mickelson ended up missing the eagle putt, but Brady and the golf superstar still won the hole ... as both Aaron Rodgers and DeChambeau missed their putts.

Phil later told Tom on the next tee box it was one of the best drives he'd EVER seen ... and yeah, watch the clip -- it's hard to argue with that.

"The Match" is all tied up through three-plus holes so far ... and the smack talk is just heating up -- with Phil already clowning Bryson for a bad tee shot on #4.

Former Navy CB Cameron Kinley is asking for President Joe Biden's help ... after the U.S. Military continues to deny his request to delay his service -- so he can play in the NFL.

Kinley -- a 22-year-old former Navy FB team captain -- just graduated from the Naval Academy and signed a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, Kinley committed to serving as an officer in the Navy following graduation (service he still intends to fulfill) ... but first, he wants to play some ball -- and he's hoping to get an assist from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

"President Biden, first off thank you for all that you do. I have a lot of respect for you, for anybody who's willing to lead our country," Kinley says.

"I'm just asking that you consider helping me with this situation I am currently in and allowing me to delay my commission so that I can go play in the NFL and then serve my commitment whenever I get done playing."

Kinley also believes his presence in the NFL will be a great recruiting tool ... showing potential recruits you can serve your country AND follow your dreams as a pro athlete.

"There's so many different ways that I can recruit, there's so many ways I can bring positivity to our fighting forces, to allow young men and women to see the opportunity that you have and to see that dreams can come reality."

We also asked Kinley's agent, Ryan Williams-Jenkins if he's considering taking legal action if the decision isn't reversed.

"That's not the case here at this time," Williams-Jenkins says ... "What we'd like to do is take all the proper channels and do things correctly. We believe there is a case to be made from Cameron to be played."

RWJ also points out that several graduates of Army and Navy -- like Malcolm Perry and Keenan Reynolds -- were approved to play in the NFL .. and he's confused about why Kinley is being denied.

"The list goes on and on of players that were able to delay their commission and play in the NFL or be commissioned and play in the NFL simultaneously which is another avenue that we're exploring for Cameron," Williams-Jenkins says.

There's zero need to fill in H.E.R. about "Schoolhouse Rock!" ... 'cause not only has she heard of the iconic series, but she's also helped the Obamas improve on it with their new Netflix animated series.

The 4-time Grammy-winning singer joins us Monday on "TMZ Live" to let us know how executive producers Barack and Michelle Obama got her onboard for "We the People." Here's a hint: there was no arm-twisting involved.

The series features roughly 3-minute long episodes teaching viewers about different aspects of American civics and politics -- and they're centered around originals songs from H.E.R., Janelle Monae, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bebe Rexha and others.

Now, for older heads this is gonna sound very familiar ... kinda like ABC's popular series, "Schoolhouse Rock!," from the 70s and 80s. You know "I'm Just a Bill" was a jam!

Well H.E.R. says "We The People" differs in one big way -- it has established hitmakers, like herself, which she says will immediately draw young audiences, and help them connect with the message. Let's just call it better learning through better music.

H.E.R. hopes the songs from the Netflix series live on like those from "Schoolhouse Rock!" ... and help young people get more invested in the country's political future.

President Biden has weighed in on Sha'Carri Richardson's suspension from competing in the Olympics -- and he dished out a tough love response ... basically saying, she knew better.

JB was down in Michigan Saturday for an event ahead of 4th of July ... and he was asked by CBS WH reporter Bo Erickson if he thought Richardson facing a one-month ban from competition due to a positive THC test was fair ... and Biden essentially said, sadly yes.

You can watch the clip yourself to see how he put it in his own words -- but the Prez didn't make any bones about it ... telling the press that everyone knows the rules going in, so it kinda is what it is on the punishment end. He did leave room for debate, however.

Check it out ... Joe says whether the weed rule should stay intact or not is an entirely different discussion -- but under the current guidelines, he suggests the punishment fits the crime. With that said, he did give Richardson props ... saying he was proud at how she responded.

Sha'Carri did an interview shortly after the news broke that she'd been temporarily DQ'd ... telling Savannah Guthrie she ingested marijuana recently, this after learning her biological mother had died and learning about it at a presser. Sha'Carri owned up to the mistake with her chin high -- but also seemed to indicate that the so-called "rules" were draconian.

President Biden's already predicting who will win the 2021 World Series ... he's going with the L.A. Dodgers!!!

The Prez made the prediction Friday in his opening remarks at the White House as he hosted the Doyers in the East Room. Biden said, "We may be doing this by the end of the year." He's not wrong ... the Dodgers are the odds-on favorite to repeat as champs.

The Boys in Blue are the first championship team to visit 1600 Pennsylvania since the COVID shutdown. It's also the first time the Dodgers visited the White House as champions since last doing so in 1988 ... Ronald Reagan's last year in office.

While the visit is a first for stars Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner and Clayton Kershaw ... this is also Mookie Betts' first trip to the White House. Betts led the Boston Red Sox to the 2018 World Series ... but the then-reigning AL MVP decided not to attend the 2019 ceremony when Donald Trump was in office.

In any event ... the team showed off their fire fashion sense. Kenley Jansen opted for a slick tux, while Mookie, ever the GQ man, borrowed a page from Pharrell's fashion playbook.

But, major props to Joe Kelly ... who showed up to the WH with the mariachi jacket he got from a mariachi band member he met at Dodger Stadium. Eso!!!

Rudy Giuliani can't practice law in the state of New York, for the time being, and it's all because of the lawyering he was doing on behalf of former President Donald Trump.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a NY court just suspended Rudy from practicing law in New York, finding Giuliani made "demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers and the public at large in his capacity as lawyer for former President Donald J. Trump."

In the docs, the court pointed to the Attorney Grievance Committee's allegations Giuliani made false statements to improperly bolster his narrative that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump due to widespread voter fraud. The court said Giuliani's conduct "immediately threatens the public interest and warrants interim suspension from the practice of law."

Giuliani's lawyers, Barry Kamins and John Leventhal, tell TMZ ... they're disappointed by the suspension, and claim Rudy was not given a hearing on the alleged issues before the decision came down.

His legal team says the former NYC Mayor does not pose a present danger to the public interest and believes Giuliani will ultimately be reinstated.

As you know ... while working as Trump's lawyer, Rudy infamously held a press conference after the election at the Four Seasons in Philadelphia -- Four Seasons Total Landscaping, that is ... NOT the hotel.

President Joe Biden is heaping praise on two high profile athletes who came out this week -- Carl Nassib and Kumi Yokoyama -- hailing them as courageous and inspiring.

Of course, 28-year-old Nassib -- a star defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders -- became the first active NFL player to come out as gay.

Kumi Yokoyama is a star soccer player for Team Japan and the NWSL's Washington Spirit. The 27-year-old came out as a transgender man on Sunday and uses they/them pronouns.

Both athletes are now getting shout-outs from the White House -- with Biden tweeting late Tuesday evening.

"To Carl Nassib and Kumi Yokoyama -- two prominent, inspiring athletes who came out this week: I’m so proud of your courage," Biden said.

"Because of you, countless kids around the world are seeing themselves in a new light today."

As we previously reported, Nassib's announcement was met with widespread support from top athletes, celebrities and officials. Ditto for Yokoyama.

VP Kamala Harris was once AG Kamala Harris -- and it was during that time that she ripped Nina Simone's family from her estate ... so claims the late singer's own flesh and blood.

The Veep is under fire by Nina's daughter and granddaughter -- Lisa Simone Kelly and RéAnna Simone Kelly, respectively -- for what they say was Kamala's role in deciding how Nina's estate is now managed, and more importantly ... who's managing it (or not, rather).

The Daily Beast outlined the drama quite well -- noting it all started with RéAnna praising Chloe Bailey's rendition of Nina's song "Feeling Good," which she put out to celebrate Juneteenth. However, it caught some flak ... supposedly for being over-sexualized.

RéAnna defended Chloe, though, by saying ... "Everyone’s coming at @ChloeBailey for her performance of my grandmother Nina Simone’s song “Feeling Good." She added, "But what y’all don’t understand is that grandma was a free spirited woman herself!! She would’ve loved that performance  as much as I do! Relax. Chloe killed it. #NinaSimone"

Chloe seemed to appreciate the shout-out. But, things took a hard left turn, as someone asked RéAnna in her comments why her family would create a Twitter account for her grandmother, who passed away in 2003. That set off a looong stream of bashing.

RéAnna wrote this in response ... "Nina’s granddaughter here. My family doesn’t run her estate anymore. It was taken away from us & given to white people. Our family name was DRAGGED in the media. We get NO royalties, nothing. Wanna hold someone accountable?Ask Kamala Harris why she came for my family #NinaSimone."

You can check out the rest of the thread yourself to get into the nitty-gritty -- but essentially, RéAnna blames Kamala for barring her fam from access to Nina's estate ... not to mention rights to her image/likeness, royalties, creative decisions with the IP and everything else.

RéAnna says Kamala and co. gave all those powers to "white people" ... and she feels like her heritage and ties to her grandmother have virtually disappeared, all because of what Kamala's office decided when they were overseeing this estate/charity case back in 2013.

A bit of backstory -- RéAnna's mother, Lisa, was made administrator of Nina's estate upon death ... but some time later, she was accused of misappropriating funds that were tied to both the estate and a charity set up in Nina's name. That's how Kamala's office got involved -- and in the end, they reached a settlement ... the terms of which RéAnna is shedding light on now ... not to mention Lisa herself, who praised her daughter for "speaking her truth."

As part of the settlement, Lisa was prohibited from associating herself with Nina in what seems to be any capacity -- be it familial or otherwise ... in addition to a de facto gag order forbidding her from talking about Nina. That's why RéAnna is speaking up on the issue.

Monica Lewinsky -- the most famous intern of all time -- tried getting in on the fun over HBO's own intern screwing the pooch, but people are pissed because ... the Clintons.

The onetime White House aide, who was embroiled in a salacious affair with then-President Bill Clinton, tweeted out a "Dear Intern" message of her own ... this as scores of people did the same to console an anonymous HBO Max intern, who'd gone viral for the wrong reasons.

ICYMI ... a strange email was sent to a ton of HBO Max subscribers earlier this week -- which read, "This template is used by integration tests only" ... which many took as a mistake, perhaps at the hands of a newbie who made an error and hit the wrong button.

HBO Max came out and confirmed that was, in fact, the case ... saying they were "helping them through it" -- so no harm, no foul it seems.

Folks chimed in with "Dear Intern" notes, giving the HBO intern advice ... while also reflecting on their own intern snafus. Monica did the same -- writing ... "dear intern: it gets better. P.S.: don't wear a beret for a while, k?" Pretty funny, right?!? WRONG!!! Or so says Twitter, anyway.

Different users dogpiled ML for what they perceived as her making herself out to be the victim of a saga that's more than 20 years old at this point ... and not just that, but indirectly roping Hillary into the conversation -- which some take as subtle shade on Monica's part.

While scores of people defended HRC and the Clinton family at large against the seemingly innocent joke -- others were quick to point out that the anger aimed at Monica is misguided and totally misdirected ... as they say she WAS a victim, and the true culprit is ... Bubba.

Champ, the beloved dog of Joe and Jill Biden has died.

The German Shepherd passed at the White House Saturday ... and Jill says he went peacefully.

The First Lady tweeted, "'RIP to our sweet, good boy, Champ. We will miss you always."

Champ moved to the White House with the Bidens and their other dog, Major, in January when the president took office.

The President and First Lady issued a statement ... "Our hearts are heavy today as we let you all know that our beloved German Shepard, Champ, passed away peacefully at home. He was our constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years and was adored by the entire Biden family. Even as Champ's strength waned in his last months, when we came into a room, he would immediately pull himself up, his tail always wagging, and nuzzle us for an ear scratch or a belly rub."

They went on ... "Wherever we were, he wanted to be, and everything was instantly better when he was next to us. He loved nothing more than curling up at our feet in front of a fire at the end of the day, joining us as a comforting presence in meetings, or sunning himself in the White House garden. In his younger days, he was happiest chasing golf balls on the front lawn of the Naval Observatory or racing to catch our grandchildren as they ran around our backyard in Delaware."

They ended with this ... "In our most joyful moments and in our most grief-stricken days, he was there with us, sensitive to our every unspoken feeling and emotion. We love our sweet, good boy and will miss him always."

Champ and his brother, 3-year-old Major moved into the White House in January but went back to Delaware for additional training because of all the commotion at the White House.

Champ was born in Pennsylvania and the Biden's got him as a puppy. His granddaughters named him.

Champ was 13.

Marlon Wayans isn't stopping with a federally mandated 3-day weekend, no sir ... the Juneteenth celebration he has in mind requires taking the whole month off!!!

We got the comedian and actor Friday leaving Equinox in WeHo, and asked how he plans to recognize the U.S of A's newest national holiday. Marlon isn't waiting for President Biden's signature -- he's simply anointing June as Black History Month, Part II.

On a serious note, or at least seriously funny ... Marlon told us how Black people will be marking the holiday this weekend. Sounds like he'll be joining in starting tonight, on what he calls Juneteenth eve.

We also ask him how non-Black Americans should celebrate. He says that's a no-brainer.

As we reported, on Thursday, Biden officially signed Juneteenth into law.

Juneteenth, of course, is the oldest celebration in America commemorating the end of slavery. Brush up some more on the history here. It had previously been a state holiday or an observed day in 47 states and Washington D.C.

President Biden just made it official ... there's now a federal holiday marking a milestone in the abolishment of slavery in the United States.

Biden put pen to paper Thursday, signing a landmark bill establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day. It's a huge deal, and not only because it's the first new federal holiday established since 1983 with Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Juneteenth is the oldest celebration in America commemorating the end of slavery. Prior to Biden signing the bill, the day was marked as a state holiday or observance in 47 states and Washington D.C.

While both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris said the holiday shows how far America's come as a nation, they stressed there's still a long road to go in making good on the promise for equality for all.

Still, Kamala says it's a day of celebration and the party's already starting on Capitol Hill ... the Congressional Black Congress sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing" -- aka the "Black National Anthem" -- after the bill was signed in the House and sent to Biden's desk.

Biden and Harris hope folks understand the history of Juneteenth and learn from it ... so here's a quick lesson.

The name Juneteenth comes from June 19, 1865, the date Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas and informed a group of slaves the Civil War was over and they were free.

Of course, President Lincoln had actually abolished slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation nearly 3 years earlier, but Texas was the most remote of the slave states and had a low presence of Union soldiers ... so enforcement was beyond slow.

The first Juneteenth celebration traces its roots to 1866 in Texas, with the holiday spreading across the South in the following decades, and in 2020 there was a renewed push to make it a federal holiday.

Usher was spotted at the White House for the historic event.